Automobile door latch



Feb., 26, 1929. 1,703,441

J. E. FREYSINGER AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH Filed Aug. 5, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l J. B. FREYSINGER `AU'LOMOBILE DOOR LATCH Feb. 26, 1929.

Filed Aug. 5, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet Patented Feb. 25,- 1929.

UNITED STATES JOHN B. FREYSINGER, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH.

Application led August 5, 1926.

This invention relates to automobile door latches ot the type having a latch or bolt adjacent one side ot' the. door, for instance the inner side, andmeans on the other side, for instance the outer side, of the door l'or operating the bolt or latch, there being a clearance space between the bolt and the operating means therefor to accommodate the window glass.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a latch ot this sort having various features of novelty and advantage.

More particularly, the aim of the invention is to provide an improved connection between the operating means on the outer side of the door and the bolt, this connection being characterized by its simplicity and durability, by its economy in manufacture, the ease and lacility with which'the parts may be assembled, and by its effectiveness in operation. My improved construction is a. rigid one which is well adapted to stand the torsional strains to which it is subjected when the latch is in use, the connection being of particular advantage in that there are no parts rubbing on one another which would result in wear and looseness.

@ther objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

rllhe invention accordingly consists in the 'features of'construction, combination ot elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplilied in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated. in the appended claims.

ln the accompanying drawings, wherein I have shown, for illustrative purposes, one of the many embodiments which the present invention may take Figure 1 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 1-1 of Fig. 2 and shows that portion ot' the. latch attached to the inner side of the door, parts being broken away for the purpose of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 oit Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a t'ace view looking at the forward end of the latch;

Fig. l is a sectional view taken substantially on line 4.-t of Fig. 3 and showing that portion of the connection which is located at the outer side of the door; n

Fig. 5`is a perspective view ot the con-neeu 'tiring an@ Serial No. 127,343.

Fig, 6 is a perspective view of the cross member or portion ot the connection.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the door, which is preferably formed of metal, has an outer panel 10, an inner panel 11, and a rail 13. 14tdesignates, generally, a portion of the door casing having a strike plate or catch 15. Only a portion ol: the door and its casing are illustrated, as the particular construction thereoin4 forms no specitic part of the present invention, it being obvious that my improved latch is applicable to doors ot' various kinds and shapes. 16 designates the window glass or pan-e mounted in a guide 17 of any suitable construction, it being understood that the window is adapted to be raised and lowered through the instrumentality of any approved or desired mechanism.

My improved latch includes a latch or bolt ot any suitable construction and mounted tor movement in any desired manner. By way ot example, I have shown the bolt as comprising a slidable sheet metal member 2O having` a bolt head 21 riveted thereto and adapted to cooperate in the usual manner with the catch or strike plate 15. This bolt is located to one side of the space provided for the window, in the present instance the bolt being mounted in a casing or support attached to the inner side of the inner panel 11. rfhe support or casing for this bolt may comprise two spaced vapar-t plates 22 and 23 secured together in any suitable manner, as by means ot riveting or peening. One of the plates, in the present instance the plate 22, has afslot-Qladapted to receive a lug 25 on the bolt whereby the bolt is suitably guided. The bolt may be normally urged into locking fposition by means of a spring 26.

Extending through the outer panellO is an operating spindle having the usual handle 31. The inner end of the spindle extends into a casing or support ot any suitable construction but which is here shown as having a pair of spaced apart plates 32 and 33. These plates have alined openings or bearings 34.

f It desired, the plate 32 may be secured to the outer panel 10 of the door, but by way of eX- ample, 1 have shown this plate as t'orming a parting of a Jframe which comprises a front or transverse portion 35 and the plate portions 22 and 32. This trame is generally U shape in horizontal section, and/the front portion 35 is secured to the rail 13, as by means of screws te. The plates 2Q and 32ers- :what:antiallyy ln n, In)

' opening 36 for accommodating` the bolt head and also has an opening 37-or accommodating my improved connection which is about to be described. The rail 13 is bowed out as at 13 so as to accommodate the protruding portion of the connection.

Reiter-ring now more particularly to my improved connection between the operating means or spindle Si, and the boli.l 40 designates an arm 'fixed to, so as to rotate with, the spindle 30; 4l is a second arm liomfnalled in the frame comprising the plates Z2 and 23; and 42 is a cross portion rigidly connecting the arms together. The arm 4l is operatively connected to the bolt in any suitable inanner, in the present illustrative disclosure this arm being in the form ot a roll-back which bears against an extension 44 on the bolt so that, when the roll-back is turned counter-- clockwise (referring to Fig. l) the bolt will be retracted. rlhe roll-back 41 may have a lug 45 adapted to engage againsi the end wall 46 ot the inner casing so as to limit the extent of rotary movement ci: the connection in a clockwise direction. lt desired, the parts 40, 4l and 42 may be made all o1c one piece or casting, but, by preference, they are made as illustrated to eliect economy in manufacture and simplicity in assembly. As shown, the connecting` portion 42 has a flange 47 at each end adapted to be respectively riveted or bolted to the arms 4() and 4l.` The arm 40 is secured to the spindle so as to rotate therewith by means of a bushing or hub 48, this bushing being polygonal and having a driving lit in a similarly shaped opening in the arm. lThe ends of the bushing are round, as illustrated, so that they may be journalled in the openings 34, and the bushing has a square opening which receives the squared end of the spindle. The other arm 4l is iixed to a similar hub or bushing 49 which is journalled in the side plates 22 and 23 of the inner casing. The arm 40 may have an outturned lug or projection 50 against which bears the end o't a spring 5l whereby the connection is normally urged to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

- It will be noted that the axes of the bushings 48 and 4f) are alined so that the arms swing about a common axis. rlthe bushings are to opposite sides of the space provided for the window, and the connection extends forwardly and ,through the opening 3'? in the 'front plate oit the lock frame. rEhe construction is such that. the window guide may extend close up to the selvage ofthe latch so that a window pane of maximum size may be used. In the present illustrative disclosire, the cross portion 42 of the connection in no position of adjustment extends rearward? ly beyond thc selvage; that is to say, rearwardly beyond the inner tace of the front plate 35. The forward face 52 of the cross member 42 is preferably curved about the axis oi' the connection'as a center. The rear side ot the connection has two 'faces which are at such an angle to one another that, when the connection is in the normal or inoperative posit-ion shown by full lines in Figs. l and 4, one of the 'faces 53 is alined with the inner .tace of the frontV plate 35, and, when the connection is in the operated position shown by dotted lines il 4, the other face 54 is substantially alined with the tront plate 35. lVith this constri'lction, a very strong and rigid connection is obtained while, at the same time, the guide 17 of the window may be brought close up against the selvage ot the latch.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely ditlerent en'ibodiments of this invention could be made without departing trom the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Quite obviously, the loclr may be provided witn a latch on 4the inner side ot the door for preventing operation of the bolt, and may be provided with a supplemental lrey controlled mechanism on the outside of the door, and may further be provided with a lever or the like for operating the bolt from the inside of the door, but as these various arrangements are old and well-known in the art, they are not illustrated in the drawings.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all oit the generic and specitic ifeaturcs of the invention herein described and all statements ot the scope of the invention which, as a matter ot language, might be said to `fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

l. A latch oi the character described having a pair of spaced apart supports with a free space between them Jr'or accommodating i a window, a bolt carried by one of said supports, operating means carried by the other ol said supports, and a rigid element between said operating means and bolt, said element including an arm pivoted in one oi.' said supports and connected to said operating means, an arm pivotcd in the other of said supports in alinement with said first arm and operatively associated. with said bolt, and

. a cross member rigidly connecting said arms together and positioned forwardly ol' the line on which said arms are pivoted and iorward- Y ly of said window space.

2. A latch of the character described hav- `ing a pair of spaced apart supports with a iro free space between them for accommodating a window, a bolt mounted in one of said supports, operating means mounted in the other of said supports, a pivoted arm in one ot' said supports and connected to said operating means, a roll-back journalled in the other of said supports on an axis coincident with said first arm and cooperating with said boit, and a rigid connection between the forward ends of said arms.

3. A latch ot the character described having a pair ot' spaced apart supports with a -free space between them tor accommodating a window, a. 'front plate connectingl the torward ends ot said supports and having;l an opening;l a bolt carried by one ot said supports, an operating;` spindle extending into the other ot said supports, ar n journalled in said last mentioned supportand receiving said spindle, an arm constituting a roll-back journalled in the other ot said supports and operatively7 associated with said bolt, said arms being journa-lled in alinen'ient with one another and the forward ends ot said arms extending through said opening` in said iront plate, and a rigid connection between the forward ends ot' said arms and arranged not to extend rearwardly oit said 'front plate in any position oi" said connection.

4. A latch of the character described having a pair ot spaced apart supports with a free space between them for accommodating a window, a bolt slidably mounted. in one ot said supports, an operating spindle extending into the other ot' said supports, and a rigid element through which said spindle otl'ects operation of said bolt, said element comrisingI an arm journalled in the last mentioned support and receiving said spindle7 an arm journalled in the other ot' said supports on a line with said irst arm and operativelT associated with said bolt, said arms extending` forwardly of the free space provided for said window7 and a rigid cross portion between the forward ends of said arms, said cross portion havingits rear side provided with two faces atan angle to each other and so arranged that when the element is in inoperative position one of said faces is in a vertical plane and when the element is in operated position the other of said faces is in the saine vertical plane.

5. A. latch of the character described havine' a pair of spaced apart supports with a tree space between them for accommodating a window, a connecting plate at the forward ends of said supports and having an opening, a bolt slidably mounted in one of said supports7 an operating spindle extending into the other ot said supports, and a rigid element for associating said operating spindle with said bolt, said elementincluding an arm j ournalled in said last mentioned support and receiving' said spindle, a roll-back journalled in the othervsupport on a line with said arm and operativeiT associated with said plate, said varm and roll-back extending' forwardly through said iront plate, and a cross member rigidly connected to said arm and roll-back and having' its rear side provided with two races ai; an angle to one another and so located that when the element is in inoperative position one of said faces is in substantial alinement with said front plate and when the element is in operated position the other 'face is in substantial alinement with said front plate.

JOHN B. FREYSNGER. 

